No Kidding About Bullying125 Ready-to-Use Activities to Help Kids Manage Anger, Resolve Conflicts, Build Empathy, and Get AlongNaomi Drew, M.A.

Help Students Become "Upstanders" for Themselves and Others

Bullying in schools is a serious problem today—one that can have severe and long-lasting effects on victims. Based on a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 students and their teachers, No Kidding About Bullying gives educators and youth leaders a diverse range of activities they can use to help kids in grades 3–6 build empathy, manage anger, work out conflicts, and stop bullying by peers. Featuring 125 mini-lessons that may be completed in 20 minutes or less, the book is a flexible resource that can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or a complement to bullying prevention and character education programs already in place.

Student activities—including games, role plays, group discussions, art projects, and language arts exercises—affirm the importance of respect, listening, and kind actions vs. bullying in schools. Kids learn skills they can use to calm down and conflict resolution techniques for situations when strong emotions threaten to disrupt the peace. With a focus on preventing teasing, name-calling, fighting, exclusion, and other hurtful actions, No Kidding About Bullying also features activities to stop bullying when mistreatment is occurring.

Digital content includes all of the reproducible handouts from the book.

“This is an extraordinary resource. It should be in every single elementary and middle school classroom.”—Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D., director of Rutgers University Social-Emotional Learning Lab and author of The Educator’s Guide to Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement

“Thank you so much for practical, ‘heartful,’ thoughtful, doable activities. I have been looking for resources like this for quite a while.”—Laurie Bayly, elementary teacher, Victoria, British Columbia

“If you are going to spend money—do it on this one. You will not be disappointed . . . you’ll be empowered.”—Roxanne Davidson, school counselor, Books That Heal Kids blog

“I recommend that anyone dealing with children in grades 3 through 6 get a copy of this book, ask the questions, and do the activities. It will definitely make a difference in a child’s life and in your relationship with that child.”—Tina Nocera, founder, Parental Wisdom®

“Naomi Drew’s book is a MUST in all schools today where bullying and peer pressure, among other serious issues, need our undivided attention. This is the key to survival . . . for those tough school-age years, for those challenging parent-to-child conversations, for those roller-coaster emotions our kids experience, for those difficult family situations, and for those ‘relationship builders’ we all could benefit from. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to make a difference and bully-proof our children!”—VickyandJen.com

“No Kidding About Bullying provides educators with abundant resources for guiding young people toward the values of kindness and compassion and the actions that support those values. The book is rich in structures for conversations that can lead students toward understanding the price of cruelty and the payoff of kindness. Some structures . . . help with anger management and stress reduction. Others establish a climate built around guidelines which students help create that provide a base of support for the issues that arise every day in a classroom. The rich supply of discussion structures and the author’s approaches to anger management and conflict resolution can help leverage the effort to create peaceful classrooms that provide safe places to learn.”—Linda Crawford, executive director of Origins, Midwest Regional Center for the Responsive Classroom® approach

“Finally, a book that speaks to teachers and instructors in the classroom to help them deal with the issues of bullying."—Dr. Paul B. Winkler, executive director, New Jersey Commission on Holocaust

“If ever there were required reading for bullying prevention, this would be it.” —Laurence R. Fieber, executive director, Center for Future Educators at The College of New Jersey

“An important book that can have a tremendous influence on students’ behaviors and attitudes, as well as the culture of a classroom—and school.” —Jane Bluestein, Ph.D., author of Creating Emotionally Safe Schools

In the Real World

Using No Kidding About Bullying

“The results of using No Kidding About Bullying have been great. We have a common language amongst the staff and students and I feel the staff is on the same page with their approach to guiding students to finding their own solutions to conflict should it ever arise.”—Geoff Hewitt, principal, Lambertville Elementary School, New Jersey

“No Kidding About Bullying is a godsend for teachers everywhere. I have passed it around among people I know and I will continue to do so. It’s perfect because teachers have so little time to pull a lesson together. This book does it all—it gives the exact words to say, ready-made worksheets, and clear objectives. Not only does it help me focus, but it allows me to spend more time preparing for the kids instead of trying to write my own objectives for my lesson plans. It was also helpful to spread the word about what I was doing with the kids to the administration of my school. As I read this book I was inspired to do so many things to bring the message home for my kids.”—Emily Voelkel, 4th grade teacher, Houston, Texas

“This curriculum is great! Giving students the opportunity to discuss these issues, especially as they reach such a critical age socially, is working wonders.” —Jennifer Buddie, elementary special education teacher, Hamilton, New Jersey